[Mr_I]

Good day to you all!

I've tried not to reply to a lot of the comments made, as it seems to only people more riled up. However, since this has now gotten (inter)national attention, by way of this forum, I feel obliged to respond.

I am the moderator of Team 811, a computer teacher at our school, and it was my call to close us down for the summer. Despite my efforts trying to get my reasons across to the team, some have felt especially hurt by the decision. FIRST and foremost, my reasoning is one of team invigoration. For the past two summers, we've tried to remain open 12 months a year. During each of the past two summers, we started off with grandiose plans (who was going to design a killer transmission, who would explore arm design, etc.). And for each of the past two summers, things kind of just petered out (who got too busy with a job, who had family vacations to worry about, who got injured and couldn’t make the journey, etc.) And unfortunately, at the end of each summer our team members showed signs of burn-out.

We just finished up an extremely lackluster year. The team started the fall uninspired, we had to beg students to assist for our FIRST Lego League tournament, our robot design was barely finished before ship date, it almost seemed an effort to get participation in regionals / Atlanta, and our robot has been sitting on the loading dock at school for nearly three weeks since its return.

I polled literally dozens of people (students, adults, parents, school administration, teachers, members of staff, sports team leaders, leads of other teams, even the athletic director!) over the past few months. Together, we came up with the idea of taking the summer off. The team needs a mental health break, needs to recharge its collective batteries. Taking the summer off will allow this to happen.

The decision was not unanimous by any stretch, but it most certainly was not “unilateral,” as has been stated. Unfortunately, some who feel otherwise have been offended by the decision. (Personally, this is evidence of the need to take time off.)

People will grumble, some may hate me for this, but ultimately, everyone will get over this. AND, come August / September, the team will come back recharged and refreshed.

Thanks for listening.